Coming out of the bathroom after her morning shower, my daughter told me the bathtub was draining extremely slowly and asked if I could take a look at it. I was certain a monstrous glob of her very long hair was causing the stoppage. I could either pay a plumber to unclog the drain, or I could put on my DIY hat later that evening and save some money. Little did I know I was in for an adventurous Friday night.
YouTube To The Rescue
My wife suggested I pour a bottle of Liquid Plumber or Draino down the drain. My gut told me those products would be no match for the hair clog lurking just beneath the drain grate. Instead, I decided to tap YouTube for instructions on how to remove the drain and remove the clog myself.
Removing The Stopper
The drain in my bathtub has a popup stopper, the kind you turn and lift up to open and just gently turn until it hits a groove and closes. I honestly had no idea how to remove the stopper to get at the clog. Luckily someone ran into the same issue, and posted a video to YouTube.
One I had the stopper removed, I was able to remove a large mass of hair. I turned on the water expecting the tub to drain quickly. Unfortunately, it continued to drain very, very slowly. Looking down the drain, I saw the crossbars of the remaining drain assembly with more hair wrapped around it and a large hair glob likely below it.
Removing The Drain Assembly
Once again, I was at a loss as to how to remove the rest of the drain assembly. A simple YouTube produced a video showing how to remove the drain assembly using a special tool. I didn’t have the tool, and at 10pm I didn’t want to go searching for one. Plus, I was determined to unclog the drain for a total cost of $0. After searching YouTube a bit more I was able to find a video posted by someone who was able to remove the drain assembly using a needle nosed pliers and a wrench.
A quick trip to the tool box and a few turns later the drain assembly was out, along with the rest of the very disgusting hair glob.
Positives to DIY:
- Learn new skills : It’s amazing what you can learn from YouTube videos or general internet searches. Once you do something, you can solve the same problem over and over again.
- Your Schedule : I didn’t have to stay home from work and wait for a plumber to show up. I waited until the evening after work, dinner, and some relaxation time.
- Save Money: I didn’t pay for a plumber, or even a bottle of product to try to get rid of the clog. It was absolutely free.
Things are going to break down in your home. That’s a fact. You can pay to have them repaired or replaced, or you can learn how to fix things yourself. There’s a limit to what a person can or even should attempt to do, but anyone with a sense of adventure and “can do” attitude can handle many basic day to day problems.
How about you, EOD Nation, what was the last DIY project you attempted?
